Salemas Cave
| Salemas Cave
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| Location: | Lisbon District | |
| Height : | 96 m | |
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Geographic location: |
38 ° 52 '6.7 " N , 9 ° 12' 44.1" W | |
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| Discovery: | 1950s | |
| Overall length: | 30 m | |
The cave of Salemas ( Portuguese Gruta de Salemas ) is located on the left bank of the Ribeira de Lousa , a tributary of the Ribeira de Loures , near the village of Salema in the District of Lisbon in Portugal . In Salemas you cross the Lisbon - Torres Vedras motorway and after approx. 700 m you come to a steep slope where, a few meters from the path to the quarry, the narrow gap to the cave opens.
The Salemas Cave was discovered in the 1950s. It is 30 meters long and on average only one meter wide. The rocky bottom near the cave entrance shows various fractures that were filled with Terra Rossa (with limestone and basalt ), Upper Paleolithic equipment and animal bones. In addition to brown bears , cave bears , horses , hyenas and wolves , wild cats (and the controversial finding of a milk tooth of a Neanderthal man ) are also represented. The utensils found show that the cave was visited temporarily in the Paleolithic and that it was a burial place in front of the cave in the Neolithic .
It was first dug here in 1959. It is the first Portuguese cave in which a stratigraphy was observed and published (1972). A 14C date (5720–4585 BC), the context of which is not clear, is one of the first archaeological 14C dates in Portugal and is of importance for the history of research. The found material is in the Museum of Services Geológicos in Lisbon .
Anta of Salemas
The Anta of Salemas (also called Anta do Alto da Toupeira) is located on the high plateau above the cave. It is the front stone and four bearing stones that make up a large ante. Excavations have produced no findings or findings. Surface finds in the area consist of Neolithic ceramics, including an undecorated neck jar, bell shards and metal finds. The finds are at the Museum of the Servicos Geológicos in Lisbon.
In 1944 a first plan of the monument was drawn by the German couple Georg and Vera Leisner , who believed that this was a dolmen without a corridor. Vera Leisner excavated the chamber with OV Ferreira in 1959. It was then classified as a polygonal chamber grave with no recognizable passage, with an area of around 5.0 × 5.5 meters and a maximum height of 2.0 meters for one of the slabs. Five plates of the chamber are preserved.
The dolmen of Salemas or Alto da Toupeira is located on the high plateau above the cave. These are the remains of a large anta with the front stone and four bearing stones. The excavations have yielded no results. Surface finds in the area have revealed Neolithic pottery, including an undecorated neck jar, bell-shaped shards and metal finds, which are in the Museu Geológico de Lisboa in Lisbon.
literature
- Thomas G. Schattner (Ed.): Archaeological guide through Portugal (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 74). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1998, ISBN 3-8053-2313-1 , pp. 137-138.